Things 3 is the better app overall, scoring 8.8 to 7.6. Things 3 wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Evernote on 1.
Apple users who want a calm, personal task manager without a subscription
Long-time users with large archives of clipped articles and scanned documents
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Things 3 | Evernote |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity & Notes | Productivity & Notes |
| Category rank | #5 of 10 | #10 of 10 |
| Developer | Cultured Code | Bending Spoons |
| Pricing | Paid | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | No | No |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | — | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | — | ✓ |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Strengths and weaknesses
Things 3
- Calm, polished design that makes planning easy
- Fast, reliable sync across Apple devices
- One-time purchase with no subscription
- Apple devices only, with no web access
- No shared lists or team collaboration
Things 3 is the most pleasant task manager on Apple devices. Every screen is calm and clear, and features like Today, This Evening, Areas and headings make planning feel easy rather than fiddly. It syncs reliably through Things Cloud and works well with Shortcuts and widgets. The catch: there are no Windows, Android or web apps, no sharing with other people, and you buy each platform separately.
Full Things 3 review
Evernote
- Excellent web clipper for saving articles
- Finds text inside images, PDFs and scans
- Mature apps on every major platform
- Free plan is too limited for regular use
- Paid plans cost more than most rivals
Evernote is still a capable place to capture everything. The web clipper is excellent, search finds text inside images and PDFs, and notes, tasks and calendar links live together. Since Bending Spoons took over, the apps have become faster and gained AI-powered search. The problem is value: the free plan is now very restrictive, and paid plans cost more than most rivals. Hard to recommend unless you already rely on it.
Full Evernote review
